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Anyone game for some rotisserie gar?

Allyse Ferrara, associate professor of biological sciences at Nicholls State University, and Kent Bolfrass inject hormones into alligator gar June 23 at the LSU Aquaculture Research Station near Baton Rouge.

Published: Sunday, July 3, 2011 at 6:01 a.m.

Last Modified: Saturday, July 2, 2011 at 11:46 p.m.

But a team of researchers is working to determine whether the fish has, well, more potential.

Allyse Ferrara, a Nicholls State University biology professor who heads the project, said coastal Louisiana is the perfect place to study the fish.

“We're lucky in Louisiana that we have enough alligator gar to support commercial fishing,” she said. “We're the only state in the country that does.”

Ferrara focuses on improving the number and quality of gar people can breed in an effort to restock depleted habitats and to find new commercial purposes for the fish.

“We're not trying to interfere with the commercial fishermen,” Ferrara said. “In fact, fishermen are some of our most-important partners.”

Instead, the Nicholls team is experimenting with other gar-based products. For example, they are developing a smaller variety of the fish that is meant to be served whole in restaurants. The fish would be cleaned, washed with sand to remove slime and other unwanted material, then roasted rotisserie-style.

“The meat is very white, very firm,” she said. “You can use it in tamales, tacos, whatever, you name it.”

Ferrara's team, which includes Nicholls and LSU researchers, obviously needs alligator gar to run its experiments.

Enter Dularge-based fisherman Rickey Verrett.

When Ferrara needs fish, Verrett gives her a portion of a catch he plans to sell at market free of charge.

The fisherman downplays his role in the scientific effort.

“All I do is catch them,” he said. “I'm not smart enough for all that data stuff.”

But Ferrara said Verrett is integral to the research efforts.

“Rickey is just wonderful,” Ferrara said. “He helps us so much, because he's got a knowledge of the system.”

Verrett said alligator gar are relatively easy to catch, though they can sometimes grow to monstrous sizes.

“I sometimes catch them at 6 feet. I caught one that was 6 feet 7 inches,” Verrett mentions nonchalantly. “It takes them a long time to grow that big, but boy they're impressive when they do.”

It's exactly that growing process that interests the Nicholls researchers. Ferrara studies the “life history” of the gar to gather data on how they grow, when they mature sexually, how many develop into males and females and how many eggs they produce.

But gathering that kind of data means keeping a lot of big fish in a place where they can be studied — space Nicholls simply doesn't have.

So the fish Verrett catches are transported to the LSU Aquaculture Research Station near Baton Rouge. There, researchers have the space to watch the gar grow with plenty of room, allowing the scientists to gather their data.

“I think it's a good example of cooperation in research,” Ferrara said. “It's important that colleagues be able to share resources, or else this kind of thing wouldn't be possible.”

<p>For many, the prehistoric-looking alligator gar is a trash fish.</p><p>But a team of researchers is working to determine whether the fish has, well, more potential.</p><p>Allyse Ferrara, a Nicholls State University biology professor who heads the project, said coastal Louisiana is the perfect place to study the fish.</p><p>“We're lucky in Louisiana that we have enough alligator gar to support commercial fishing,” she said. “We're the only state in the country that does.”</p><p>Ferrara focuses on improving the number and quality of gar people can breed in an effort to restock depleted habitats and to find new commercial purposes for the fish.</p><p>“We're not trying to interfere with the commercial fishermen,” Ferrara said. “In fact, fishermen are some of our most-important partners.”</p><p>Instead, the Nicholls team is experimenting with other gar-based products. For example, they are developing a smaller variety of the fish that is meant to be served whole in restaurants. The fish would be cleaned, washed with sand to remove slime and other unwanted material, then roasted rotisserie-style. </p><p>“The meat is very white, very firm,” she said. “You can use it in tamales, tacos, whatever, you name it.”</p><p>Ferrara's team, which includes Nicholls and LSU researchers, obviously needs alligator gar to run its experiments.</p><p>Enter Dularge-based fisherman Rickey Verrett.</p><p>When Ferrara needs fish, Verrett gives her a portion of a catch he plans to sell at market free of charge. </p><p>The fisherman downplays his role in the scientific effort.</p><p>“All I do is catch them,” he said. “I'm not smart enough for all that data stuff.”</p><p>But Ferrara said Verrett is integral to the research efforts.</p><p>“Rickey is just wonderful,” Ferrara said. “He helps us so much, because he's got a knowledge of the system.”</p><p>Verrett said alligator gar are relatively easy to catch, though they can sometimes grow to monstrous sizes.</p><p>“I sometimes catch them at 6 feet. I caught one that was 6 feet 7 inches,” Verrett mentions nonchalantly. “It takes them a long time to grow that big, but boy they're impressive when they do.”</p><p>It's exactly that growing process that interests the Nicholls researchers. Ferrara studies the “life history” of the gar to gather data on how they grow, when they mature sexually, how many develop into males and females and how many eggs they produce.</p><p>But gathering that kind of data means keeping a lot of big fish in a place where they can be studied — space Nicholls simply doesn't have.</p><p>So the fish Verrett catches are transported to the LSU Aquaculture Research Station near Baton Rouge. There, researchers have the space to watch the gar grow with plenty of room, allowing the scientists to gather their data.</p><p>“I think it's a good example of cooperation in research,” Ferrara said. “It's important that colleagues be able to share resources, or else this kind of thing wouldn't be possible.”</p>